Infrastructure Is Sexy

We've got ourselves a heat wave on the east coast, and for those of you wondering, it takes about two-and-a-half days of near hundred-degree heat before New York City smells like a garbage dump.

This is the first real heat of 2008, and Con Edison, our faithful (and most likely corrupt) public/private utility service provider, has been issuing power usage warnings and guidelines. Certain neighborhoods should use necessary electricity only. There have been a few brown outs across the City already, and shit, it's early June.

Queens had a lengthy blackout just a couple years ago, and my 'hood was one of the harder hit. My apartment was one of the lucky ones. We had fluctuating, throbbing power in two random outlets. They weren't on the same circuit, and I never did understand the strangeness of it. Most of our neighbors were completely without power. For more than a week.

Looks like NYC's got itself an outdated power grid. ConEd can't keep up with the power demands of a growing city, and across the United States, there's been a distinct lack of investment in infrastructure (if that bridge in Minneapolis is any indication).

In the ever-reliable The Nation magazine a few months ago, the editors asked the primary candidate dropouts of both parties to write about what issues they felt should be discussed more on the campaign trail but were being largely ignored. Tom Tancredo used the opportunity to issue yet another screed about the evils of immigration.

Christopher Dodd wrote about infrastructure, as a topic that should be on full-throttle yet gets little discussion at all. He and anti-war Republican Chuck Hagel have proposed the creation of an infrastructure bank to help pay for all of the things around the country now crumbling thanks to a lack of investment.

I tell you what... I think it's a great idea to throw a shitload of money at public works. Hire a bunch of out-of-work folks (that unemployment rate just keeps on climbing) to fix our busted-up, broken-ass country. Save the bridges, fix the roads, invest in broader public transportation, plant trees, reclaim and restore abandoned buildings... And they're jobs that can't even be outsourced (living wage required!).

Infrastructure discussions won't win elections (even if you couple it with standing up to warrantless wiretapping - Sorry, Dodd), but if those discussions get moved into action, the investment can really make a difference in our neglected communities.

Dude, infrastructure's totally hot.